Has Anyone Tried a No Cash Game

[maggot]

In my quest to get rid of the parts of the game that annoy me, I came up with the following solution to the constant accounting chore of keeping track of loot, the time lost to shopping trips, and complaining about not having the right amount of equipment.

Your character chooses his equipment out of the DMG based on the GP limit for PCs (also in the DMG). Every level, you can choose more equipment, or swap for different equipment. The in-game explanation is that you looted bodies, sold that loot, and bough the stuff you really wanted. Or you could increase an item you already have and say it was improved by supernatural means (a sword that awakened from +2 to +3 or an amulet that was blessed by your deity in a dream to go from +2 to +4, or whatever). Or you could even choose to keep something cool that your oppenents had buy just writing it down and accounting for the value of it. All extra gold is given to charity, spent on upkeep, etc.

My only problems are coming up with an individual item cost limit (I'm thinking 1/4 of the total limit for any one item) and items with charges (I'm thinking you cannot spend more than 1/10th of your wealth on potions, wands, staves, and scrolls).

 

[LostSoul]

That's not a bad idea.

I think that a limit of no more than 1/2 on any one item would be okay. I wouldn't have a limit on potions, wands, or scrolls.

Would players be able to share the wealth? Could they buy a party wand of cure light wounds, for example?

edit: Here's a problem: Wizards. Wizards have to spend a lot of money on new spells. Would you keep this up?

 

[ThirdWizard]

I know there's at least one person on these boards who does this, but I can't remember whom. I know it has worked well for them in the past. If I had the search function, I'd look for it.

 

[maggot]

That's not a bad idea.

I think that a limit of no more than 1/2 on any one item would be okay. I wouldn't have a limit on potions, wands, or scrolls.

Would players be able to share the wealth? Could they buy a party wand of cure light wounds, for example?

edit: Here's a problem: Wizards. Wizards have to spend a lot of money on new spells. Would you keep this up?

I would let you loan your items out. Why not?

The idea on a limit for potions, etc. is you basically get them back next level. So the standard downside (use it once and it is gone) is removed, and thus you need to reign it in a bit.

As for wizards, good point. The wealth rules don't cover the value in the wizards books. I would say increase the number of spells they get, or charge them the price of a scroll for one level. (That latter option only works in an extended campaign.)

 

[ptolemy18]

Ehhgg. While I don't like spending huge amounts of time role-playing and DMing shopping trips, I don't like this idea at all.

(1) Firstly, it's very "meta-game", since you're basically making all the NPCs' possessions into a sort of nebulous mass which can't be used by the players. Like in some bad video game.

(2) Even more importantly... unless I'm totally misinterpreting your idea, you're removing one of the primary motivations of adventuring. What's the point of looking for treasure if your treasure is directly tied to your level? That pretty much eliminates the fun of "What weird magic item will I find today' (or, for the DM, "What weird magic item can I reward the players with this time?") Whole modules are built around finding some particular special magic item or treasure. And what if one of the player-characters is a thief-rogue type whose main motivation is finding treasure, pick-pocketing, opening chests, etc.? I pity the fool who'd play a rogue in that campaign...

(3) Not that this sort of thing happens often, but what happens if the PCs' equipment gets stolen, sundered, rust-monstered, etc.?

The only way I can see this working is if you were running a campaign where the PCs were part of some organization which provided them with all their equipment. Kind of a James Bond campaign where all the adventures are "quest"-oriented. In that context, where there's an actual in-character explanation, it might work (and it'd certainly ensure that the PCs don't role-play greedy treasure-hunters).

Jason

 

[Eternalknight]

If you are just looking to get rid of gold pieces, have you tried the Wealth system from d20 Modern?

 

[Uvenelei]

I do something similar to this - I run a DnD game set in the modern world, and there really isn't any gp based economy. This combined with the fact that there's no dollar to gold conversion ratio that remotely makes sense or feels right means than PCs start with their chosen gear, and gather enough magic loot during their adventures to keep them at the DMG suggested level. I think it works pretty good, but I can see someone going too far abstract - I don't like the idea of a PC upgrading has +1 sword for a +2 just because "uh, I guess killed something and took it".

 

[DonTadow]

Yeah, I don't like this "you get what you want" method. Shopping and looting gold is one of the highparts of the game in almost every party I've been in. Finding unique items that hte players would have never come up with apart of the mystery. (ooooh what's on this body, what was causing that wierd glow). Plus youre taking away your power as dm to regulate what is brought into your game. I let players choose whatever they want when they start a new character and they have to explain their items in their backgrounds. But in game I can control odd items and provide good story based items.

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

I've used the Wealth system mechanics from d20 Modern in fantasy games before, and after the initial culture shock, everybody loved it.

On one hand, the interest in "getting cool stuff" didn't drop entirely away, but at the same time, everybody wasn't obsessed with buying and selling.

I've often said about D&D that in a real world you'd never want to associate with Player Characters ... as they're basically homeless people sleeping in the forest spending tens of thousands of dollars on weapons.

With Wealth, you're handwaiving alot, but you're also assuming that people have a "standard of living" ... I found my players were suddenly interested in things like buying land and political clout ... I didn't REDUCE combat loads, but it was a conceptual change. Was a +1 Flaming Longsword really THAT much more effective than a +1 Longsword, when you could keep a high Wealth bonus and hobnob with the rich instead?

It was very odd. I'd like to do some more in-depth studies about how things changed. I honestly expected everybody to sack their Wealth down to +0 every trip into town buying and selling magical lewt. We ran a good-length mini campaign (6 months?) and some people kept the same masterwork gear they bought the second session in.

These the same players that, last campaign, would get "to town" and tally their last copper to buy Gauntlets of Ogre Power, then borrow some money from another PC for a Flaming enhancement on their longbow.

--fje

 

[FickleGM]

True20 also utilizes a Wealth system, similar to d20 modern.